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September282014

“We can see the application of economic valuation in the real world and the damage that application has in far too many cases already done to communities who depend on and defend their territories against outside decisions that will destroy the land that provides them with a livelihood.”

I remember in the late 1970s how the corporate world essentially invented the use of cost-benefit analysis in health, safety and environmental regulation. It was a brazen attempt to redefine the terms for understanding social ethics and policy in terms favorable to capital and markets. Instead of seeing the prevention of death, disease and ecological harm as a matter of social justice, period, American industry succeeded in recasting these issues aseconomic matters. And of course, such arcane issues must be overseen by a credentialed priesthod of economists, not ordinary mortals whose concerns were snubbed as selfish NIMBYism (Not in My Backyard).

And so it came to be that, with the full sanction of law, a dollar sum could be assigned to our health, or to the cost of getting cancer, or to a statistical baby born with birth defects. Regulation was transformed into a pseudo-market transaction. That mindset has become so pervasive three decades later that people can barely remember when ethical priorities actually trumped big money.

Striking a note that is note heard much these days, Unmüssig points out the serious dangers of seeing the natural world through the scrim of money. Here is the abstract for her piece:

In the wake of declining political will for environmental protection, many in the environmental community are advocating for the monetization of nature. Some argue that monetization, by revealing the economic contribution of nature and its services, can heighten public awareness and bolster conservation efforts. Others go beyond such broad conceptual calculations and seek to establish tradable prices for ecosystem services, claiming that markets can achieve what politics has not.

However, such an approach collapses nature’s complex functions into a set of commodities stripped from their social, cultural, and ecological context and can pose a threat to the poor and indigenous communities who depend on the land for their livelihood. Although the path from valuation to commodification is not inevitable, it is indeed a slippery slope. Avoiding this pitfall requires a reaffirmation of the precautionary principle and a commitment to democratic decision-making and social justice as the foundations of a sound environmental policy for the twenty-first century.

Unmüssig’s essay is followed by comments by some fantastic commentary by nine ecological economists and environmental policy experts, among others, who take issue with parts of the essay and elaborate on points of agreement. Among the commentators are the noted ecological economists Herman Daly and Bob Costanza, but there are also some insightful comments by Neera Singh, Jutta Kill and Neil Glazer.

I especially liked biologist Jutta Kill’s comments:

We can see the application of economic valuation in the real world and the damage that application has in far too many cases already done to communities who depend on and defend their territories against outside decisions that will destroy the land that provides them with a livelihood.

And finally, adopting someone else’s frame—the frame that sees “nature” in a way that capital does—by default requires devaluing and undermining the values we (used to) consider worth fighting for. That would likely entail losing moral authority and legitimacy, at least over time. Adopting the concept of economic valuation means adopting the values of actors whose business model is built on limitless growth and the associated wrecking of “nature”—and many people’s livelihoods.

Forestry scholar Neera Singh also has a nice response to the perversity that sees ecological conservation as a sacrifice for which market payment should be paid:

“How can we honor the gift of conservation care labor that goes into the production of ecosystem services in ways that it is seen as a gift rather than as production of a service whose exchange can be sealed with a payment? And can we see these gifts—gifts by nature, by people who live in ecologically sensitive landscapes, gifts emerging from human-nature relations—as invitation for long-term exchanges in sharing the burden and joy of environmental care?”

Read the essay and then the comments. Some terrific insights into the pathological monetization of nature.

You sling a message in a bottle into the vast Pacific Ocean. The ocean is huge, you reason, high on romanticism and not considering your contribution to pollution. It could wind up anywhere, you think.

Researchers from the University of South Wales in Australia, however, recently monitored the direction and speed of ocean swells over a 48-month period. Those figures were then correlated with data showing the areas that accumulated the greatest pollution density—known as “basins of attraction.” The study, published by the American Institute of Physics, indicates that the world’s bodies of water are far less connected than one might presume.

January222013

Thus is the power of graphic representation

Do I understand the graph well - the red written explication is
related to the whole black line, which has no relation to the x and y
scales? - then it should presumingly only show the relative development
between carbon dioxide incl. volcanism and the yearly temperature, which
is in MHO hardly convincing, if I try to to understand the obvious
down drops in the years of strong volcanic activities. But to interpret the
black graph as an average temperature isn't nether very helpful comparing the line with
the yearly temperature amplitudes.

Also: 1956 seems for me a pretty late starting point "attributed to
human activities" - but there is certainly something like proofing
ability or disability by statistics to consider, and we know that the winters during WW2 and
especially in the second half of the 1940 were in Europe relatively
cold. The graphic as a whole seems to have its flaws - it is lacking a
contextual explication.

January042012

Scientists said on Tuesday that they had discovered the world's first hybrid sharks in Australian waters, a potential sign the predators were adapting to cope with climate change.

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// quotation by oAnth:

[...]

The Australian black-tip is slightly smaller than its common cousin and can only live in tropical waters, but its hybrid offspring have been found 2,000 kilometres down the coast, in cooler seas.

It means the Australian black-tip could be adapting to ensure its survival as sea temperatures change because of global warming.

"If it hybridises with the common species it can effectively shift its range further south into cooler waters, so the effect of this hybridising is a range expansion," Morgan said.

"It's enabled a species restricted to the tropics to move into temperate waters."

Climate change and human fishing are some of the potential triggers being investigated by the team, with further genetic mapping also planned to examine whether it was an ancient process just discovered or a more recent phenomenon.

There are some 35,000 church forests in Ethiopia, ranging in size from a few acres to 300 hectares. Some churches and their forests may date back to the fourth century, and all are remnants of Ethiopia’s historic Afromontane forests. To their followers, they are a sacred symbol of the garden of Eden — to be loved and cared for, but not worshipped.

December292011

A careful selection of sustainable external materials and details ensure the longevity of the building’s lifespan. A low maintenance home, it has no painted external walls and low water use vegetation. It has minimal energy and water consumption having light filled spaces sheltered from the heat, north orientation with large overhangs, cross flow ventilation, high performance glazing, energy and water efficient fixtures, solar power for hot water and pool, photovoltaics and a rain water collection facility for irrigation, toilets and laundry.

The building is designed as a private home for the long term use of its owners with a high level of finish and detailing within the budget requirements.

October312011

Looking at the various crises going on around the world, what are the
challenges ahead and the opportunities for us as a community? Can we
meet these challenges skillfully? World-renowned activist Naomi Klein,
author of 'No Logo' and 'The Shock Doctrine', on a rare visit to
Totnes, hosts an evening of discussion and participation. All welcome

August212011

Wildlife
film maker Rebecca Hosking investigates how to transform her family’s
farm in Devon into a low energy farm for the future, and discovers that
nature holds the key.

With her father close to
retirement, Rebecca returns to her family’s wildlife-friendly farm in
Devon, to become the next generation to farm the land. But last year’s
high fuel prices were a wake-up call for Rebecca. Realising that all
food production in the UK is completely dependent on abundant cheap
fossil fuel, particularly oil, she sets out to discover just how secure
this oil supply is.

Alarmed by the answers, she
explores ways of farming without using fossil fuel. With the help of
pioneering farmers and growers, Rebecca learns that it is actually
nature that holds the key to farming in a low-energy future. (Excerpt from bbc.co.uk)

Ok, those Germans are just showing off now. Not only has the nation announced plans to shut down all of its nuclear power plants and started the construction of 2,800 miles of transmission lines for its new renewable energy initiative, but now the village of Wildpoldsried is producing 321% more energy than it needs! The small agricultural village in the state of Bavaria is generating an impressive $5.7 million in annual revenue from renewable energy.